A/N: Part 2 of Casting Shadows AU. No Ami Mizuno look alikes were hurt in the making of this fic. That and the puns killed me. I suck at puns and I'm not looking forward to writing a oneshot of nothing but puns for next week. Also, side note! Updates for Casting Shadows is going to be a bit more sporadic. Usually I write stories like this all the way through to completion but I'm really playing this by ear so it's an ever growing/ever changing story. I'm really excited about where it could all be going though. Thanks in advanced for all you readers who will stick around! If you want the latest updates and news on when I'll update visit my tumblr: .com! I post a lot of updates and even sneak peeks occasionally!


No one had said anything to him. Not one person seemed to think Adrien could've possibly been Chat Blanc. No one was treating him any different. Nino had slapped him on the back when he'd gotten out of the car just like he always did. Chloe had practically jumped on top of Adrien when she'd seen him and hung off his neck. Alya hadn't wasted any time in teasing him. Marinette was stammering and stuttering around him but that was pretty typical for her. At least she wasn't running scared after getting a terrifying close up look at Chat Blanc.

The lack of recognition alone was a huge relief to Adrien. Seriously! It was like someone had pulled a huge weight off his chest. The last thing he needed, or wanted for that matter, was for his new classmates to be scared around him. That and he also didn't want someone stringing two and two together and figuring out his identity before he even commenced his special operation. Adrien fingered his necklace subtly. Mari's presence brushed against his touch warmly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before you head to your lunch break remember that the upperclassmen are taking an important test upstairs. Please try not to be too loud as you head out." Mademoiselle Bustier said as she turned from the board to the class. There was a chorus of 'yes ma'ams' from the entire classroom. Mlle. Bustier smiled at them all kindly. "Class dismissed. We'll see you after your lunch break."

Nino whistled as he sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "I don't envy those upperclassmen. That test they're all taking is supposed to be super hard."

"You do know that we'll have to take that test next year right?" Adrien pointed out, raising his eyebrow.

"You're a real killjoy sometimes. Y'know that right dude?" Nino groaned and wiped his face, sterling silver ring dragging his lip down. Adrien laughed and shrugged.

"Well when the time comes, if you need tutoring I can help you out." he offered before bending down to collect his bag and books. "Any idea where you wanna go for lunch today? It's your turn to pick."

"How about… Ow!" Nino yelped in pain and jerked around. A pencil dropped to the ground with a dull thunk. Nino massaged the back of his head as he shot a dirty look at his lady love. "Alya! What was that for?"

"Huh?" Alya said innocently. There was something more mischievous in the way she was smiling. "Were you talking to me babe? I wasn't paying attention."

"Of course you weren't." Nino muttered under his breath.

"I was just asking Marinette about her latest project. Right ma chèrie?" Alya said. Adrien looked at Marinette. He could literally see the blush shoot up her neck and throughout her face. She was as red as Ladybug's costume. "You brought it with you right? Can we see it?"

Marinette's eyes met his for a half second. Adrien thought he heard her squeak like a mouse before she dropped her gaze to her textbook on the desk. Alya cleared her throat and sent a pointed look at Nino. Nino started and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Uh… yeah Marinette. Let's see it."

"What is it?" Adrien threw out. Marinette's looked up at him through her eyelashes. He smiled supportively at her.

"Al… alright," she whispered.

Marinette bent down in her seat to a fabric shopping bag at her feet. Her hands were shaking as she pulled a neatly folded square of gold fabric from it. Wordlessly, Marinette held it out. Adrien was the closest to her so he took it.

His brain stopped working when he unfolded it. It was a handstitched banner. He could tell. He'd been around enough clothes to spot the workmanship. In the middle of the banner were two silver fencing foils crossed over one another at the blade. Underneath were the words 'en garde Adrien' in bright green lettering. Someone had spent a lot of time on it. The thing took up half the desk he and Nino shared. Someone had spent a lot of time making it for him.

Adrien looked up at Alya in confusion. She waved her hand in Marinette's direction. Poor, sweet Marinette had her head buried in her hands and appeared to have her forehead glued to her desk. Adrien hadn't realized that it was even possible for her to be any more red than what she was. "Marinette… did you make this?" he asked. He couldn't help it. The incredulity was obvious. "Is this for me?"

Marinette made some sort of half moan, half wail sound softly as she dug her forehead deeper into her desk. Then she yelped in pain and sat bolt upright. Alya shifted sideways, crossed one foot behind her, and whistled innocently. Marinette stared at him with wide doe eyes.

"It's beautiful! Thank you so much!" A bright smile stretched across his face. Marinette looked like she was about to melt into a puddle on the floor. He raised the banner in the air again to take another look at it.

"Y… you just looked so upset, y'know. A… after your dad told you he wasn't going to make it to your fencing match thingy. I thought that I, uh, would make a banner to hold when I came." Marinette stammered. Her voice was so quiet that Adrien had almost missed it. However, her words sparked a memory from the back of his mind.

Adrien clenched his fists as he paced up and down the short hallway. His fingers were wrapped tightly around his phone. The stupid, tiny piece of technology that had delivered the message from his father about not being able to attend his fencing exhibition. Some important business had popped up. Adrien growled and raked a hand through his hair. It wasn't fair! What could be so much more important than his exhibition. Adrien hadn't even wanted to do fencing. His father had made him do it. Didn't that mean his father should try to make it to at least one exhibition? Didn't it?

"A… Adrien?" called a timid voice. Adrien whipped around. Marinette was standing behind him, chewing on her lip like she was debating something in her mind. "A… are you… What's wrong?" she asked after a moment.

"Just peachy," he muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest and slammed his back against the wall. The rational part of his brain told him that he was acting like a two year old but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Nothing is better than having your own dad blow you off. This fencing exhibition has been planned for three weeks and now all of a sudden he can't come? I should've known. I should've guessed. I'm stupid for thinking this time would be any different."

"I… I don't think that at all." Marinette said. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She offered him a small, shy smile. "I'm sure he wants to come."

"No he really doesn't." he grumbled.

"Well, um… maybe I can come then? So that way you'll have someone cheering in the stands for you. When is it?"

"Saturday," he answered not bothering to make eye contact with her.

"Adrien?" Nino's voice brought him back to reality. There was kind of a funny look on Nino's face. "You, uh, you still with us dude?"

"Yeah!" Adrien said quickly. His hands fumbled a bit as he refolded Marinette's banner. He wasn't sure if it had been one of Mari's magical induced memory recollections or if it was just his own subconscious that had dragged the memory out of him. One thing was clear in Adrien's mind though. Marinette cared. Marinette had cared enough to ask him if he was alright. Adrien had been downright seething when she'd come across him but she'd still worked up the courage to ask him what was wrong. Marinette had cared enough to ask him when his exhibition was. She'd cared enough to offer to come and watch. Now she'd cared enough to make a banner just for him. Maybe that's why I saved her. Because she cared.

Adrien handed the banner back to Marinette. "I look forward to seeing you in the stands. I won't be able to miss you with this awesome giant banner."

He didn't think it was possible but Marinette flushed and even darker shade of red. "Come on girl. Let's go get some lunch before we waste our entire break." Alya said as she pushed Marinette towards the stairs.

"We'll see you back in class Alya!" Nino waved at them as they disappeared through the door. He slapped Adrien on the back. "C'mon. Let's go get something to eat too and I'll make you listen to the playlist I put together for Alya's birthday."

"Again?" Adrien shot him a confused look. "Didn't I just listen to one a couple of weeks ago?"

"That was for our anniversary. This one's for her birthday." explained Nino as if it were obvious. Adrien rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he minded listening to Nino's playlists. Nino put together awesome playlists. It was just listening to the playlists that he made for his girlfriend that caused him some issues. There were only so many love songs Adrien could listen to before he felt the need to jump out the window and see just how far Mari's magical abilities transferred into his civilian life. It didn't matter if all the songs were different genres. Adrien smiled all the same.

"Cheating!" cried a girl's voice from down the hall. Adrien and Nino froze midstep. A short upperclassman with a bob of bright blue hair stumbled into the hallway followed by Madame Mendeleev. She looked close to tears. "I'm a straight A student. How can you accuse me of cheating?"

"I'm sorry Amice but you know the rules. This is an important exam and if I see any suspicious activity I have take your test and give you a zero." Mme. Mendeleev explained motioning to the piece of paper in question.

"My mom texted me about my dad. He's sick. I was done with my test and I didn't think it mattered. Please! You can check my phone. I promise I wasn't cheating!" Amice said. Adrien could see the tears rolling down her face. The poor girl looked like she was about to get down on bended knee and plead for her grade. She had her phone out and was trying to hand it to Mme. Mendeleev.

"Rules are rules Ms. Fontaine. I can't change them for just one student." Mme. Mendeleev answered. Amice's hand fell limply to her side. Her lower lip was shaking as she stood staring at Mme. Mendeleev in shock. Then she shook her head, snatched her test out of Mme. Mendeleev's hand, turned, and fled down the hall.

"That's rough." Nino said as they watched Amice run into the bathroom.

"Just how important can this test be?" Adrien murmured. "It really isn't fair. Do you think Mme. Mendeleev will change her mind?"

"I have no idea man. Mendeleev is a real stickler sometimes." Nino gave a shrug. However there was a strange, guarded look on his face. He slapped Adrien on the shoulder and pushed them towards the doors. Nino did cast a wary glance back over his shoulder at the bathroom door. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at Adrien because it was at that exact moment that Mari saw fit to light up his pendant like a Christmas tree. Adrien wrapped his hand around the necklace to hide it. Not a good time Mari, he thought as he shot a nervous glance at Nino.

The moment passed. The light died beneath his hand as Nino turned back around. "Any where in particular you wanted to eat today? I think it's your turn to pick."

"Hmm… something simple I think. I'm not really in the mood for anything big." Nino said.

"There's that new bistro that opened up on the next street over. They're supposed to have some pretty good sandwiches that aren't going to kill our budget." Adrien suggested as they stepped out into the afternoon sun.

Nino opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a sudden shrill laugh. Both Adrien and Nino whipped around right in time to see the school doors blast open. Mme. Mendeleev came tumbling down the stairs, landing in a pile on the ground. "Mme. Mendeleev!" called Rose.

"Are you okay?" asked Juleka as they rushed to her side.

"Go! Run! Get away from here!" Mme. Mendeleev screamed, pushing the two girls away from her.

"Unfair and unbiased accusations! How can any student ever hope to get through your classes?" a familiar sounding girl's voice demanded. The same one that laughed just a half second before.

The girl descended the steps, clutching a thick blue book close to her chest. There was a paper sticking out from the top of it. Adrien could see that as the girl lowered the book to her side. On her chest was a thick, black, arial print letter 'A' with a tiny plus sign hanging beside it. Her bright blue hair stood out at wild angles as she glared down at Mme. Mendeleev. "I'll make sure that none of your students ever have to worry about being falsely accused by you!"

The girl raised the book she was holding into the air again. Mme. Mendeleev gave another short lived scream as she jumped to her feet and pulled Rose and Juleka with her. A thick, red letter 'F' hit the ground right where she'd been sitting. Adrien's eyes went wide. The crater in the sidewalk that was left was huge. "Ms. Fontaine! This is highly uncalled for!" snapped Mme. Mendeleev.

"My name isn't Amice Fontaine! It's Open Book!"

"Run!" yelled Mme. Mendeleev. It didn't look like Amice, or Open Book as she now preferred, was all that into talking it out at the moment. People scattered as more 'F's started flying through the air from Open Book's lexicon weapon.

Adrien felt his necklace begin warm up against his skin. A rock dropped into the bottom of his stomach like a heavy iron weight. Apparently it was show time for Chat Blanc. He just had to get away from Nino. Adrien racked his brain, desperate for any sort of story he could come up with. It just had to be plausible enough to separate from Nino. He could suggest going for help. Or what about offering to help? No! Better yet, tell him you're going inside to make sure people were alright. That was an idea Adrien could get behind. "Nino I…" he started but Nino cut him off with a fluid line of cursing.

"Alya just sent me a text. She somewhere heading this way with her camera hoping to get pictures of Ladybug and Cat Noir for the Ladyblog. I'm gonna go see if I can intercept her before she does something stupid and gets hurt!" Nino said as he shoved his phone deep into the pocket of his bag.

"Huh?" Adrien replied with an infinite amount of smoothness that would've made Nino shake his head if he wasn't so preoccupied at the moment.

Nino latched on to Adrien's arms. "Stay here and wait for me. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." he nodded numbly. So much for needing an excuse. Nino was practically giving him what he wanted on a silver platter. Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat though. There had to be something in the unwritten rules of friendship about just standing on the sidewalk while your buddy went off in search of his half insane girlfriend in the middle of an akuma attack though. Nino didn't seem particularly concerned about it. He licked his lips to moisten them. "Good luck… be careful."

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon!" Nino promised him with a cheery wave. Not too soon Adrien hoped.

Nino ran back into the school building. He probably was hoping to cut through the back athletics field to cut Alya off. Adrien wrapped his hand around his pendant before sprinting the way that Open Book had chased Mme. Mendeleev. "Now or never." Adrien said as he flew around the corner and into some bushes. "Let's go Mari!"

Warmth and light rose to meet him. Adrien closed his eyes and let the magic wash over him. His civilian clothes disappeared and the white leather of Chat Blanc replaced them. A slight weight settled on his hip. Chat Blanc opened his eyes and flexed his claws experimentally. "No overwhelming desire to steal jewelry from some teenagers. No voice in my head. That's reassuring." he mumbled to himself.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir, I was wondering when you were going to show up." Open Book said. Chat Blanc could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Leave that teacher alone!" called Ladybug's voice came from above. She and Cat Noir were standing on top of the school's roof glaring down at Open Book.

"I'm not finished with you yet." Open Book said to Mme. Mendeleev before turning her attention back to Ladybug and Cat Noir. The two heroes already had their respective weapons out and were watching her like a pair of hawks. "Why don't we just make this quick. You come down here and give me your Miraculous and I can get on with my day."

"Sorry," Cat Noir said, rolling his eyes.

Ladybug flipped her braid over her shoulder while spinning her yo-yo lazily. "Not going to happen."

"What a shame. I was so hoping your answer would be different." Open Book told them. She raised her lexicon into the air.

"Watch it!" yelled Cat Noir moments before the projectile came hurtling at them. Ladybug went one way and Cat Noir went the other. They hit the ground as pieces of the roof cascaded over head. Open Book tracked their movements, following them with her book. More attacks went flying and more holes were blasted into the ground and building around them. Cat Noir danced sideways and backwards as the attacks flew at him. Chat Blanc twisted his head as he watched. Must have been the guy's bad luck that made him target number one. "Oh give me a break!" he whined as he fell backwards to avoid one shot.

A well placed yo-yo throw twisted around Open Book's arm and Ladybug jerked hard on the line. Open Book yelped in pain. Her lexicon went flying out of her hand, landing on the sidewalk spine side up. "No!" she cried, reaching after it with her untrapped hand.

"Mari… I'm not entirely sure what you want me to do here." Chat Blanc said as he looked up over the top of the bush he was still hiding behind. "Ladybug and Cat Noir look like they have this pretty well in hand. There isn't really anything for me to…"

His words died off when he saw that the papers in Open Book's lexicon had fallen on to the sidewalk. Judging by the fact that it was thick packet of stapled papers with a big, fat zero on the front of it Chat Blanc was pretty certain it was Amice's exam. There was a weird purple mist rising from it. Okay, that wasn't normal. At all. By any means. He felt Mari's soft presence brush the back of his mind and the image of his broken practice foil jump to the forefront of his brain. "That's where the akuma is…" he whispered.

What felt like an affirmative wing flutter passed his mind. There was something else laced within the feeling. A sort of urgent, desperate need. His corrupted practice foil jumped into his mind as the weight on his hip warmed up. Chat Blanc looked down. The same foil hung at his waist. He had no clue how Mari had managed to get it there but there it was… and he felt the same desperate need intensify by twenty. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you really want me to get that test."

Once more Mari fluttered affirmatively. Open Book pulled back as hard as she could on Ladybug's yo-yo. Ladybug cried out as she toppled forward and landed on her stomach with a hard 'oof.' Cat Noir hurried to her side to help her up and Open Book rushed for her lexicon. The dangerous protective look on her face as she stuffed the exam back into her lexicon. "Yep, get the paper. No problem. Easy as pie…" Chat Blanc mumbled under his breath. "Couldn't have picked something easier for me to get from her could you Mari. Are you sure you don't want me to steal her left shoe while I'm at it?"

He had a feeling that if Mari had a voice it would be yelling at him right now. Chat Blanc pulled the foil from his hip. He had to be smart about this. Wait for a good opening. That was probably the only way he was going to be successful.

"It's in that paper." Ladybug told Cat Noir nodding at Open Book. "The one that fell out of her lexicon."

"Right. I'll see what I can do about getting it away from her." he said. He flipped his staff around in front of him and charged at Open Book.

Open Book snarled. Bolts flew from her lexicon towards Cat Noir's immediate threat. This time he was ready. Right as one bolt raced past his head, he dove to the ground and slid. Chat Blanc's jaw dropped as he watched Cat Noir go right underneath Open Book's offense and defense with perfect timing and coordination. His staff came up with a sharp strike. Open Book scrambled back. She only just barely managed to avoid being hit in the arms. Instead Cat Noir's staff hit the lexicon itself. "Get away from me!" she snapped.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled. A flash of red light made Open Book turn. A bottle of what looked to be glue fell into her hand. Ladybug turned it over, looking at it's red and black spotted label as if it would somehow magically tell her what to do with it. "Um…" she said.

Apparently not much luck in figuring out how glue applied to the situation.

"I guess I'm going to keep distracting it while you figure something out?" Cat Noir shouted. Sarcasm dripped off his voice.

"Save it Kit Cat!" snapped Ladybug.

Cat Noir gave a groan before he rolled off his back to his feet. A purple butterfly mask flashed over Open Book's eyes and her gaze unfocused. Neither Cat Noir or Ladybug seemed to see the purple outline. Another jolt of memory hit Chat Blanc. "That would be Papillion talking to her." he whispered to himself, his grip tightening around his sword.

The outline faded right as Cat Noir started to lunge in again. It was clear he was trying to take advantage of Open Book's distractedness. The problem was that Open Book was definitely paying attention again. She turned, lexicon levelled at Cat Noir. His eye went wide and he tried to dive and slide like he had before. This time Open Book was ready. She jumped sideways. As Cat Noir slid harmlessly past her, she raised her lexicon. A blasting attack went off. Cat Noir cried out as he went flying through the air and hit the school.

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug cried. Open Book laughed, walking towards her fallen victim with hand outstretched. Chat Blanc could practically hear Papillion laughing in his own ears.

"This would be an opening." Chat Blanc murmured through grit teeth. He gave a yell and charged with foil raised.

Open Book gasped, turned, and raised her lexicon at him. Chat Blanc feinted to the left at the last possible moment. It put him right in between her and Cat Noir. "Another one of you?" she asked as her lexicon fell slightly. "He didn't tell me there were three of you."

"I'm a special case." shrugged Chat Blanc. "I guess you could say I'm a class of my own."

Open Book just stared at him blankly. "Get it? You know, class? Because we're at a school… with, um, classrooms?" Chat Blanc explained.

"I get it." Open Book replied in complete and utter deadpan. The lexicon was back up and aimed at him. Really? That had been a good one.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ladybug yelled. Both he and Open Book jumped. Ladybug had completely forgotten about the glue. Now she was just staring with a slack jaw at him and pointing randomly at the air between him and some abstract place that probably only existed in her mind.

"We cleansed your akuma!" Cat Noir said. Chat Blanc chanced a glance back at him. He looked just as confused as Ladybug but there was something else underneath. It was almost like fear. Okay, that was fair. Chat Blanc had come pretty close to stealing their Miraculous not even two days ago.

"What can I say? I'm just full of sur-purr-ises." Chat Blanc told them all. He eyed Open Book up and down, analyzing her stance. Maybe between he and Cat Noir they could buy Ladybug some time. Or he could just get the test himself. Either way worked for him. "So, uh, we get the possessed object and destroy it right? That's how this cleansing thing works. Well, in that case you've got a few overdue fines on that book of yours!"

"What kind of lame joke is that?" sputtered Open Book. Cat Noir groaned behind him and he heard the distinct sound of Ladybug hitting her forehead.

"It wasn't lame." Chat Blanc pouted as he raised his foil.

"Get out of my way!" Open Book spat. She took a shot at him.

Chat Blanc lunged under it, closing the gap between the two of them. The attack went over his shoulder and struck the side of the school. Chunks of bricks hit the ground with a dull thud. It was a good thing that part of Ladybug's powers were to restore damage. Another attack flew towards him. Chat Blanc stepped back. His foil came up on instinct to parry the attack, forgetting entirely that he wasn't facing another fencer with a foil. He only had a split second to think about just how bad of an idea that parry was. So much for 'the turn into his former akuma self and get the possessed item' thing. It had been fun for the three minutes he'd done it.

His hand stung. Ripples of pain shot up his arm as the attack flew off kilter and went sailing towards a tree to his side. Chat Blanc's eyes went wide under his mask. He looked down at his foil. He didn't remember being able to do that the last time. His arm felt about as gelatinous as when another fencer tried to strong arm him but he'd totally deflected that attack! A grin stretched across his face. "En garde." he smirked before diving forward.

Open Book cried out and dodged sideways.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir called out. There was a snap and a crack as something broke.

Open Book's cry turned into a startled shriek as she tumbled backwards. There was a thick tree branch tangled underneath her feet and Cat Noir still had his arm raised from throwing it. Chat Blanc pulled back sharply right about the same time Ladybug's yo-yo zipped through the air. It hit the lexicon and stuck fast. Chat Blanc saw the white glue sticking out from underneath one side of the yo-yo. Ladybug gave another hard tug. Open Book resisted, knuckles turning white around the lexicon. It was no use though. Open Book yelled in dismay as her weapon and possessed item went hurtling towards Ladybug. Huh, that was one way to use a random object. Kind of put a dent in his whole get the possessed test plan Chat Blanc had though.

"No!" Open Book screamed. Ladybug yanked the test from the lexicon and ripped it in two. A black butterfly rose from the torn papers and she threw the shreds on the ground.

Ladybug slipped her yo-yo off her hip and swung it over her head. "That's enough from you!" she said as she threw.

Chat Blanc knew what she was doing and what was going to happen next. Ladybug would cleanse the akuma. The victim would turn back to normal. The white butterfly would fly away to wherever those white butterflies went. Ladybug would fix the damage and then she and Cat Noir would amscray. It was pretty cool seeing it in Alya's vlog videos. No doubt it would be better in person. However, there was something more important to him at the moment. The torn exam laying on the ground beside Ladybug's feet. He really needed that exam.

Red light washed around the school and sidewalk. Potholes and missing chunks disappeared. The two pieces of the ripped reformed into one. Even better for him. "What… what happened?" Amice stammered, looking around in utter confusion.

"It's okay." Cat Noir said as he kneeled down beside her.

"C...Cat Noir?" Amice whispered. "Ladybug?"

"Hey there. Just take it easy." Ladybug told her as she came over and rested her hand on Amice's shoulders.

Chat Blanc shot them a quick look before creeping his way towards the exam. Ladybug and Cat Noir were a little busy at the moment to pay attention to him. All he had to do was grab the test and get out back to the front of the school. Hopefully Nino wasn't waiting for him.

"Chat Blanc!" Ladybug called out. He froze in place, one foot still raised in the air. Chat Blanc winced. There was no ignoring her tone. "What are you doing?"

"How are you still here?" Cat Noir asked. He raised his staff as if he were about to come after Chat Blanc. Okay, this complicated things a bit. He really didn't want to get into a fight with them at the moment.

"Just ignore me," he gave them a two finger salute, "I'm just gonna grab this and be on my way so… bye!"

He snatched the exam off the ground and turned on his heel.

"Hey!" Cat Noir yelled angrily.

"Get back here!" Ladybug demanded.

Their footsteps landed hard and fast as they chased after him. Chat Blanc looked over his shoulder. Ladybug and Cat Noir were right behind him literally. "Wow they are really fast." he muttered under his breath with a grimace.

In the back of his mind, Mari was fluttering desperately against his consciousness. Don't get caught? Really? I hadn't figured that one out yet, he thought back sarcastically. The hair on the back of his neck prickled. Chat Blanc just barely managed to turn the corner before Ladybug's yo-yo caught him around the middle. It hit the side of the school instead. Cat Noir slid around the corner fast, using his staff as a brace to stay upright and keep momentum.

Not good! Cat Noir and Ladybug would catch him at the rate this was going. Again, Chat Blanc really didn't want to fight them. Someway, somehow, he had to lose them and quick! That's when an idea popped into his head. The school! He could lose them in the school. Cut through the gym, come out the back, lose the transformation, and double back as Adrien! It might just work!

He vaulted over the top the wall of the school's front stairs. A pair of beeps filled the air but he ignored them. Not really important at the moment. However, Ladybug and Cat Noir dropped back a pace when they heard them. Chat Blanc took the opportunity to turn a corner and out of their sight. Ladybug's cursing when she saw him disappear was still too close for comfort though.

His heart was racing just as fast as he was. He was thankful for the fact that he wasn't winded. It would've made outrunning Ladybug and Cat Noir harder than it already was. Chat Blanc had put some distance between the two of them but thanks to his advanced magical hearing, he could tell just how much ground they were regaining. Crap!

He had find some place to get rid of the transformation. He couldn't do that with Amice's exam still in his hand though. That would've been a dead giveaway.

Chat Blanc turned another corner. Standing on the side of the hallway was Marinette. She was frowning at something on her phone as she poked at the screen. Her school was loose in her free hand. Another idea sprang into his head and made him wince. It was the only thing he could think of at the moment. I'm so sorry Marinette, Chat Blanc thought to himself as he altered course and charged straight for his classmate.


Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!

PepperGuest (Anon reviewer): A lot of Marinette's role and storyline is still in development. However, one thing is for certain and that is her's and Adrien's partnership is still going to be a huge factor in this AU!

Wolfinmist: I'll be honest, I asked for suggestions for Mari's name. It really is short for mariposa (Spanish for butterfly) but I chose it because it was suspiciously similar to another character's fanon nickname. I couldn't help myself. I'm a big heaping pile of trash!

CeruleanDreamCat: Updates are going to be more sporadic for this AU. However, I'm really excited to share what I come up with so I hope it comes together well!

XrosaryX: Differentiating Alya!bug and Nino!Noir from Marinette and Adrien's canon heroic identities is going to be the hardest for me I think. As far as Marinette in this AU, think brains behind the operation and keeping Chat Blanc from getting himself killed ;)

llazo4108824: Thank you! I shall do my best!

Hokori-Hori-Chan: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much! Updates will be sporadic because there's so much that I want to explore and look at!

RocioDWGFSH: OMG! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Flygrrl: Yep, and I finally got its continuation up! I'm so excited about this story. I can't even fully explain it.

Unstoppable Cyborg: Mari was a name suggested to the author on Tumblr. The author is pure trash and chose it because it was very similar to someone else's name...

XXPay4XtraShippingsXX: Oh my gosh! Shippings! I haven't seen you pop up in ages! HIIII! Lol, I'm still have mixed opinions on fan favorite theory Gabriel Agreste being canon Hawkmoth/Papilion. But that's too long of a discussion to get into here :)

Pebna Wolf: The AU just kinda struck me out of the blue one day and a lot of people seemed to really get behind it so yeah... I got inspired to write in it. I'm plenty excited about it myself.

Niefify (anon Reviewer): I've never actually seen that anime before but yes, we'll be getting into the "amnesiac" Adrien within the next couple of installments.

Niom Lamboise: Sorry it took so long to update :( Hopefully the wait won't be so long next time!